For about 16 years, his biggest challenge has been not being able to fit his chair into the food pantry at his home, according to his mother.

But the limitations of his cerebral palsy are nonexistent with cooperation from his parents, said Paulette Wheat, Alfie’s mother.

Fate

Alfie was born premature at 26 weeks, weighing only 3 pounds and 3 ounces, Paulette said.

When he was 4 years old, he was placed in foster care and spent the next five years in the same foster home, she said.

Paulette, a special education teacher for Lubbock Independent School District, and her husband, Wayne, had always known they wanted to adopt a child with special needs.

A couple of failed adoption attempts made Paulette believe fate led her and her husband to Alfie.

“Every time we’d call CPS, they’d say no,” she said. “ ‘We’ll give you who you’re best suited for.’ Special needs kids are not easy kids to adopt.”

Attempting to adopt Alfie was different, she said.

The couple began visiting a child at the foster home where Alfie was staying and taking him on outings just before they met their future son.

“We met him when he was 9 years old,” Paulette said. “We were going by the house to pick up a kid to take him to the school carnival. We were expecting to see the one kid waiting at the corner and we show up and Alfie is there, too.”

The boy “turned on the charm” and won Paulette over, she said.

“We got home and I told my husband, ‘I gotta have him,’ ” she said.

The couple began visiting him more often and contacted adoption officials to start the adoption process, Paulette said.

Contact was made just in time, she said.

“He was about to be moved to another state,” Paulette said. “They said ‘We’ll give him a six-month extension.’ That was a big huge sign it was a God thing.”

Arrangements were made for Alfie to live with Paulette and Wayne. Within the following year, the adoption was made final, Paulette said.

“Judge Hancock was good to us,” Wayne said.

After adoption papers were signed and Alfie was officially a Wheat family member, Hancock stepped off the bench to take photos with the family, Paulette said.

Alfie said he remembers his adoption day.

“It felt good,” he said. “I was glad that it was over and that it was all done.”

Cerebral Palsy

“It’s a term,” Dr. Richard Lampe, professor and chairman of the department of pediatrics at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, said of cerebral palsy. “It isn’t really one disease. It is a term applied to conditions of children.”

Carol Perry, Alfie’s physical therapist and vice president of TheraCare, said “palsy” refers to abnormal or limited muscle movement.

“The ‘cerebral’ part is referring to the brain,” she said.

The disease spectrum is caused when a child suffers injuries to the brain caused by infections, trauma, inherited conditions or brain malformations, Lampe said.

“Unfortunately, sometimes we may never know the exact cause,” he said.

It is usually detected after birth, Perry said. Premature children are often more at risk of developing it.

Paulette believes a premature birth was one of the factors that caused Alfie’s case.

“He was born so premature that his lungs weren’t fully developed,” she said.

The disease presents itself in different forms, Perry said. It can look one way on one child and different on another.

“It can be very, very mild,” Perry said. “You might notice that one foot might drag a little bit. Other children have it so severe that it affects absolutely every movement that they have, including their chewing and their tongue muscle. It’s a really wide varied diagnosis.”

Lampe said it isn’t possible to gauge how many births are affected by cerebral palsy, but he used an example to demonstrate.

“This month in Lubbock, about 400 children will be born,” he said. “As many as five or 10 percent of them may have some developmental delays. …When a family asks us ‘Is this cerebral palsy?’, we don’t know until we see the effects of the brain. … If this month’s 400-plus children are born, I think we’re talking about four to eight or 10 children this month.”

Paulette said the range of the disease spectrum puzzles people when they see Alfie for the first time.

“They’re surprised because they know someone else with cerebral palsy, but they’re not in a wheelchair,” she said.

No limitations

Alfie graduated with honors in 2006 from Coronado High School.

“When he got his diploma, the whole crowd at the United Spirit Arena gave him a standing ovation,” Paulette said. “I was in tears.”

After graduation, Alfie attended Texas Tech for two years before moving to Lubbock Christian University where he is still a student.

Paulette said he does not have a major, but enjoys taking psychology and social studies classes.

Perry said there is a misconception that people with cerebral palsy have a lower intelligence level than people without the disease.

With Alfie, that’s not the case, Paulette said.

It can be challenging to understand what Alfie is saying at times, but he is well aware of his surroundings and conversations happening around him, she said.

“He’s got a good vocabulary.”

When Alfie first moved in, it took a bit to catch on and be able to understand his words, Wayne said.

“If we didn’t understand, he’d use a different word,” he said.

Paulette said her son often pokes fun at his parents for being “less stronger” and having to cater to him.

“He thinks he’s got it made in the shade,” she said with a laugh.

Now 26 years old, Alfie is very self-confident and has a good sense of humor, she said.

“When kids ask what’s wrong with him, we always say he didn’t get fully cooked,” Paulette said. “When people ask him how he got in a wheelchair, he always says crazy stories like he used to be a race car driver until he got in an accident.”

Alfie’s condition has left him without use of his legs and little use of his hands. His mother and father must watch him and his brother, Mason, also adopted, and cater to the boys’ every need — from feeding to wheeling them around and even holding Alfie’s canvas when he creates artwork.

Zest for life

Wayne said Alfie’s art lessons began three years ago as just something to do in the summer.

“He ended up liking it and sticking with it,” he said. “It was amazing when he liked it and was enjoying it.”

Maneuvering art brushes and pencils can be challenging for Alfie alone, so his parents fashioned assistive tools designed specifically to make his tasks easier with his bent wrists.

“He remembers everything they tell him,” Paulette said. “He’s definitely got an eye for it. We try to think up ways he could adapt different things and ideas for tools.”

Alfie’s work always starts out looking like scribbles before taking shape into his still life pieces, Paulette said. Much of his work is currently on display at the Lubbock Municipal Garden & Arts Center, 4215 University Ave.